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Science-Based Economic Development edited by Susan Raymond
Susan U. Raymond
Director, Policy Programs
New York Academy of Sciences
The pace and "take no prisoners" nature of global economic competition continues to place an ever greater premium on harnessing the energy of science and technology to the engine of economic progress. Knowledge is becoming a leading factor of production around the world, and the ability to create, master, and mobilize knowledge will likely distinguish economies that enter the next millenium with bright prospects from those that do not.
Creating and sustaining a knowledge-based economy, however, requires a different optic for viewing much of policy making in many areas of the world. Strategies based on centrally controlled, centrally dictated, rigidly regulated economic decision-making fit poorly onto the flexible, innovation-driven process underlying the creation and mastery of knowledge. Moreover, the core actors in the process are not central bureaucracies, but a diverse and rich mix of academic and private entrepreneurs and researchers whose skills and curiosity can combine in myriad ways to generate innovation. In such an economic kaleidoscope, the role of government shifts from dictating to facilitating. The key to the whole process is partnership- between science, technology, economics, and public policy and between universities, the private sector, and government.
But, how to get there from here? What is the most effective substance of policy that seeks to link science and technology directly to economic prosperity. what is it that governments, corporations, and universities should do? And how confident are we that the effort will, in fact, bear economic fruit? Furthermore, even if we are supremely confident in the substance of the strategy, and firmly convinced of its effectiveness, how can such partnerships be created? And how can they be sustained through the normal (and even the not-so-normal) cycles of political and economic change? As that great American philosopher and some-time New York Yankee oracle Yogi Berra once remarked, "If people don't want to come out to the ball park, nobody's going to stop them." How can the critical actors in a knowledge-based economy be drawn to the ball park, and, more importantly, be motivated to suit up and join the economic team?
This volume of the Annals is focused on these critical issues. What is the link between science and technology and economic development? How can policy help to force that link? What are the important components of successful policy initiatives? And, in pluralistic political systems, how can those initiatives be created and sustained over time? None of these questions knows geographic boundaries. The recognition that the S&T-economic prosperity link is critical is shared both in government corridors and in corporate boardrooms in Boston and Bangalore, in Seoul and Sao Paolo, and even in Lagos and Llongwe. Hence, the material in this volume includes case studies from around the world. When the Academy embarked upon the analysis that led to this volume, the effort was greeted with much skepticism. How could the experiences of places so different in scientific and technological capacity, income, economic structure, and political dynamics learn from one another? But the case studies and the subsequent international conference on Policy for Science-Based Development, sponsored by the Academy in April 1996, indicated that the need for sharing of experiences, insights, Successes, and frustrations was common across borders. Moreover, the strategies (and even the unraveled plans) of S&T initiatives in the industrialized world could provide important directional signals for the newer efforts of the developing world.
The research, analysis, and deliberations that underpin this volume, and that provided the structure for the international conference, could not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of a great many people and institutions.
The leadership and vast knowledge of Rodney W Nichols, President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences has served as an intellectual anchor for the Science-Based Development project, the conference, and this volume of the Annals.
Particular gratitude is due the Carnegie Corporation of New York for the major underlying grant to support the Academy project. The leadership of Dr. Patricia L. Rosenfield, Program Chair, Strengthening Human Resources, and Dr. 0. Akin Adubifa, Program Officer, are gratefully acknowledged. In addition, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation provided support for the U.S. case studies. The Academy expresses particular thanks to Dr. Victor Rabinowitch, Senior Vice President of the Foundation, for his encouragement and support.
The effort benefited enormously from the guidance and peer review of the Academy's Council for Science and Technology Partnerships. Members of the Council include: Titus Adeboye, African Technology Policy Studies Network, Kenya; Thomas H. Althuis, Pfizer Inc, New York; Jesse H. Ausubel, The Rockefeller University, New York; Harvey Brooks, Harvard University, Massachusetts; George Bugliarello, Polytechnic University, New York; C.J. Chetsanga, Scientific and Industrial Research & Development Center, Zimbabwe; Umberto Colombo, former Minister of Universities, Italy; Pieter J.D. Drenth, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Netherlands; Ewa Gajewska-Blaisdell, Compaq Computer, Poland; Grace Goodell, Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C.; Donald S. Hetzel, Becton Dickinson and Company, New Jersey; H. Graham Jones, formerly with the New York State Science and Technology Foundation, New York; Rustam Lalkaka, United Nations Development Programme, New York; W Henry Lambright, Syracuse University, New York; Shelley Lau, Director of Home Affairs, Hong Kong; Lydia P Makhubu, University of Swaziland, Swaziland; Thomas H. Moss, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.; Thomas R. Odhiambo, African Academy of Sciences, Kenya; Sandra Panem, Vector Fund Management, Illinois; J. David Roessner, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia; Francisco R. Sagasti, AGENDA, Peru; John Sullivan, Center for International Private Enterprise, Washington D.C.; Frank Sutton, Aga Khan University Board of Advisors, New York.
In addition, I would like to thank Edward Harcourt for his early assistance in implementing the project and in producing this volume. David Roll, with efficiency, skill, and an abiding sense of professionalism, prepared the papers editorially for both the briefing book for the conference and for this volume of the Annals. Jim Doyle, Program Coordinator in the Policy Department of the Academy, took the baton from Ed Harcourt and led both the conference and this volume across the finish line with the highest quality and the best of spirits. And finally, and once again, deepest gratitude goes to Justine Cullinan for her careful management of the final publishing project and her enormous reservoir of patience.
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